Tirpitz (1941) | Timeline

Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship, Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2000 tonnes heavier than Bismarck, making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy. (Intro from Wikipedia)

June 14, 1936 - Battleship "Tirpitz" is ordered

November 2, 1936 - Wilhelmshaven, Germany - "Tirpitz" is laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven

April 1, 1939 - Wilhelmshaven - "Tirpitz" is launched and christened, with Adolf Hitler in attendance

February 3, 1941 - Wilhelmshaven - "Tirpitz" is commissioned, with Käpitan zur See Karl Topp in command =(START)

March 9, 1941 - Wilhelmshaven - Departs Wilhelmshaven for Kiel

March 10, 1941 - Brunsbüttel - Anchors at Brunsbüttel, to enter the Kiel Canal on the next day

March 13, 1941 - Kiel - Departs Kiel for Gotenhafen

March 14, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Arrives in Gotenhafen

March 20, 1941 - Off Gotenhafen - Sea trials

May 5, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Hitler and Wilhelm Keitel visit the "Bismarck" and the "Tirpitz" in Gotenhafen

May 22, 1941 - Kiel - Returns to Kiel to complete her outfitting

May 27, 1941 - While in Kiel - Sister-ship "Bismarck" is sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean

July 21, 1941 - Kiel - Drydocked at Deutsche Werke Kiel

August 2, 1941 - Kiel - Undocked

September 23, 1941 - Off Öland Island, Sweden - A naval force under command of Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax sails to prevent possible sorties of the soviet fleet from Leningrad. Battleship "Tirpitz", heavy cruiser "Admiral Scheer", light cruisers Emden, Köln, Leipzig and Nürnberg, 3 destroyers and 4 torpedo boats remain in patrol off the swedish island of Öland.

September 27, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Returns to Gotenhafen

November 1, 1941 - Kiel - Drydocked at Deutsche Werke Kiel

November 30, 1941 - Kiel - Undocked

December 21, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Returns to Gotenhafen

January 11, 1942 - Kiel - Returns to Kiel

January 12, 1942 - Kiel - Departs Kiel for Wilhelmshaven

January 14, 1942 - Wilhelmshaven - Arrives in Wilhelmshaven. Departs Wilhelmshaven for Norway at night for "Operation Polarnacht", escorted by 4 destroyers

January 16, 1942 - Trondheim, Norway - Arrives in Trondheim, Norway

January 30, 1942 - Trondheim - Seven British Stirlings and nine Halifaxes attempt to attack the "Tirpitz" in Fættenfjord but fail to locate the battleship

February 24, 1942 - Trondheim - Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax and his staff embarks "Tirpitz"

March 6, 1942 - Trondheim - Departs Trondheim to intercept British convoys QP8 and PQ12 in the Arctic

March 8(?), 1942 - Off Narvik(?) - The convoys are warned and the ships scatter. Ciliax cancels "Operation Polarnacht" and returns to Trondheim

March 9, 1942 - Bogen Bay, near Narvik, Norway - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 12 Albacore torpedo biplanes from aircraft carrier "Victorious". The german battleship avoids all torpedoes and shoots down two albacores before anchoring in Bogen Bay, near Narvik

March 13, 1942 - Trondheim, Norway - Returns to Trondheim

March 30, 1942 - Trondheim - 33 RAF Halifax bombers attempt to attack "Tirpitz" in Fættenfjord without success. Six bombers are lost in the attack

April 27, 1942 - Trondheim - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 29 RAF Halifax and 11 Lancaster bombers in Fættenfjord without success. Five bombers are lost in the attack

April 28, 1942 - Trondheim - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 23 RAF Halifax and 11 Lancaster bombers in Fættenfjord without success. Two bombers are lost in the attack.

May 31, 1942 - Trondheim - Grand Admiral Erich Raeder visits the battleship and spends the night aboard

July 2, 1942 - Trondheim - Departs Trondheim under command of Admiral Otto Schniewind to attack the convoy PQ17, together with "Admiral Hipper", 4 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats

July 4, 1942 - Kåfjord, near Alta, Norway - The group joins "Admiral Scheer" in Kåfjord

July 5, 1942 - Off North Cape, Norway - Battleship "Tirpitz", Heavy cruisers "Admiral Scheer", "Admiral Hipper", the destroyers "Friedrich Ihn", "Richard Beitzen", Z24, Z27, Z28, Z29, Z30, and the torpedo boats T7 and T15 depart Kåfjord. Later, the Soviet submarine "K-21" attacks "Tirpitz" with torpedoes but obtains no hits. Schniewind cancels their mission and returns home with the battle group. Although the battle group does not engage the enemy, the Luftwaffe and the U-boats manage to sink 22 merchantmen carrying 430 tanks, 210 planes, 3,350 vehicles and over 99,000 tons of material.

July 8, 1942 - Bogen Bay, near Narvik, Norway - The group anchors in Bogen Bay, near Narvik

October 23, 1942 - Bogen Bay - Departs Bogen and sails to Trondheim

October 24, 1942 - Trondheim - Begins a refit in Trondheim

February 24, 1943 - Trondheim - Kapitän zur See Hans Meyer takes command of the ship

March 22, 1943 - Bogen Bay - Steams to Altafjord with "Scharnhorst" and "Lützow", escorted by 3 destroyers and 4 torpedo boats

March 24, 1943 - Kåfjord, near Alta, Norway - "Tirpitz", "Scharnhorst" and "Lützow" are transfered to Kåfjord, near Alta. Trials until July

April 1(?), 1943 - Bear Island, Arctic Ocean - Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and 9 destroyers conduct a training mission to Bear Island

April 12(?), 1943 - Kåfjord - Returns to Kåfjord. Fuel shortages prevent major operations for the next months

September 6, 1943 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz", "Scharnhorst" and 9 destroyers depart Altafjord to attack the allied installation on the Island of Spitzbergen

September 8, 1943 - Off Spitzbergen - The group bombards Spitzbergen and destroys the port

September 9, 1943 - Kåfjord - Returns to Altafjord

September 22, 1943 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by the British midget submarines X-5, X-6, and X-7 in Kåfjord. After passing through the protective torpedo nets, X-6 places two mines of two tons each under the battleship's keel, and X-7 another one. The three midget submarines are sunk but the damage sustained is important and the battleship is out of action for the next six months.

November 1(?), 1943 - Kåfjord - Repairs begin in the "Tirpitz" (until February 1944)

February 12, 1944 - Kåfjord - Attacked by 4 soviet bombers without success

April 3, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 40 bombers from the carriers "Victorious", "Furious", "Emperor", "Searcher", "Fencer", and "Pursuer". The ship is hit by 10 bombs of 225 kg and 4 of 775 kg. The damage is heavy and casualties amount to 122 dead and 316 wounded. Later, a second wave has no success.

May 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Kapitän zur See Wolf Junge takes command of the ship

July 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Begins trials with escorting destroyers

July 17, 1944 - Kåfjord - 44 Barracudas lift off from the British aircraft carriers Formidable, Indefatigable and Furious, however, the Germans are alerted and establish shore-based smoke screen, thwarting the attack

August 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Finishes trials

August 22, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 Barracudas from british carriers "Indefatigable", "Furious", "Formidable", "Nabob", and "Trumpeter", with no success.

August 24, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 33 Barracudas from british carriers "Indefatigable", "Furious", and "Formidable". Two bombs hit the ship, causing 8 dead and 13 wounded.

August 29, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 26 british Barracudas, with no success.

September 15, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 27 british Lancasters from Yagodnik near Archangel. The battleship is hit on the forecastle by a 5.4-ton "Tallboy" bomb. The damage is severe and the battleship requires extensive repairs

October 15, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island, W. of Tromsø, Norway - After temporary repairs in the bow, the Tirpitz leaves Kåfjord/Altafjord and sails at 8 knots to Tromsø where she anchors off Håkøya Island to remain there as a floating battery.

October 29, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 british Lancasters of the famous 617th Dam Buster Squadron, without success.

November 4, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island, W. of Tromsø - Kapitän zur See Robert Weber takes command of the ship

November 12, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island, W. of Tromsø, Norway - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 british Lancaster bombers. The battleship is hit by two "Tallboy" bombs on the port side amidship and  capsizes, causing 971 dead =(END)